The present invention is directed to the field of child-resistant safety caps for sealing a container or vial, particularly of the type used for pharmaceutical prescriptions. Most safety caps include indicia to indicate the directions for removing the safety cap. Such indicia are typically printed on the cap in a lithographic process, or else molded into the top surface of the safety cap as a relief in the cap's surface profile.
It has been observed that such molded relief features create chafing and discomfort on the hands of pharmacists, who must open and close a great number of vials during the course of a work day. Lithographic printing contributes to the production costs of the cap, which can add considerably to the production of a large volume of caps. Also, printed indicia can become abraded and illegible after repeated opening.
Another problem encountered with previous vials is reverification of a prescription. Typically, the pharmacy label wraps around a large part of the vial, requiring repeated removal of the safety cap to reverify the contents of a prescription. This can create a significant burden on elderly persons having several different prescriptions, who may open several vials to locate a desired prescription. A similar problem is encountered in the pharmacy, where a pharmacist must repeatedly remove a large number of safety caps to reverify that the prescription has been properly filled, prior to dispensing to the customer.
The perimeter of the common previous cap design is ridged to permit more secure gripping during cap removal. However, some persons have difficulty removing these safety caps, particularly elderly persons and others who lack hand strength. The ridges typically do not offer adequate gripping to assist in cap removal.